FTA talks: Activists boycott hearing
Bangkok Post | 30/09/2010
FTA TALKS
Activists boycott hearing
A public hearing on whether to include alcohol and tobacco in the Thailand-EU free trade agreement talks was a non-starter yesterday as activists boycotted the event.
Kumron Chudacha, project manager of the Youth Network for the Prevention of Underage Drinking, said non-governmental organisations were disappointed the government changed its attitude and called for a public hearing after the Commerce Ministry said earlier that it wanted to exclude hazardous products, particularly alcohol and tobacco, from products to be discussed at the FTA negotiations.
The network submitted an open protest letter to the government through Sanya Sathiraboot, an adviser to Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot, calling on the government to withdraw the two products from the talks. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco will become cheaper because of tariff waivers if they are listed under the deal.
The group vowed to boycott the hearing and continue the protests as long as the government includes alcohol and tobacco in the talks.
Thailand’s alcoholic drink market is now worth about 200 billion baht, with imports making up 6.25 billion baht. Imports from the EU totalled 5.30 billion. Tariffs for imported alcohol are currently high at 60%.
Mr Sanya said the hearing aimed to seek comments about customs tax reduction on alcohol and tobacco, Thai business competitiveness, the government’s expected loss of revenues and health and social concerns.
"Certain people are concerned about the impact of the liberalisation, while some enterprises are concerned that blocking EU products will only benefit some domestic producers," said Mr Sanya. "We need to consider those pros and cons."
The ministry will call more public hearings on Oct 12 and probably additional hearings if needed after that before submitting a conclusion to Parliament for debate and approval in accordance with Article 190 of the Constitution, he said.
